Saturday, July 30, 2011

Enjoy Your Meal

This is what we say to one another at every meal.  We eat all our meals together as staff with the guests of the Conference Center.  For guests, meals are a time of conversing with one another, playing various table games, such as the cup game, elbows on the table, or the order of the fork.  For Czechs, it is a time of silence to concentrate on the meal in front of you.  Breakfast is the worst for me, after two or more cups of coffee, to keep silent.  I try to honor their tradition and they tell me no!  We are in America!

The other day I was honored to be invited to lunch at their home, next to the Tabernacle, for a typical Czech meal.  I entered the Scott House which serves as the staff house to the smell of garlic and foreign music, Bara singing along, happy in her role as hostess.  The boys came down, both remarking on a huge inhale "smells like home".

We are family for the summer.

We stuffed ourselves on garlic soup, some fried dough, and the only Czech name I remember Knedlicky (blueberry).  It was delicious.  It was wonderful.  It was hearwarming.  And I was silent expect for the moaning.

Just about everyday we comment on our favorite meals as we prepare the same things over and over and over and over again.  For the record, my favorites are:
Breakfast - french toast
Lunch - italian sandwiches and caesar salad
Dinner - chicken fajitas, rice and corn pudding

But to eat Czech specialties....there is no comparison.